The next time you get caught doing something you shouldn't (stealing food off a friend's plate, coveting thy neighbor's wife, etc.) one way you could try to get out of it is by opening your eyes really wide and yelling "Oh, what, what time is it, where am I, oh, man, I was asleep, bro, I was fast asleep and I just woke up and found myself here doing something I shouldn't – what happened?"

That's pretty much what a Connecticut man accused of trying to rob an 81-year-old woman is doing, reports The Norwich Bulletin.

According to the police report, Winston Riley, 27, cornered his alleged victim when the two were alone in a parking garage elevator at the Mohegan Sun casino at 10:39 a.m. on March 18th. He then attempted to rob her at knifepoint.

The woman claims Riley brandished "a large knife" and made a grab for her purse. After she resisted, she says he tried to cut the purse loose. After she resisted a little more, the elevator doors opened and she ran out, at which point he also fled.

The casino surveillance cameras tracked him down easily. When police arrived on the scene, Riley confessed to the crime, explaining (redundantly, given that he was arrested for attempted robbery) that he "just wanted some money."

But now that Riley has a lawyer, he realized he wasn't robbing; he was sleepwalking. He woke up when the woman ran away from him screaming. It was all a beautiful crazy dream, and you were there, and you, and you, and you, and you.

According to attorney Nicholas D'Amato, Riley has been a sleepwalker since childhood.

D'Amato claims to be in the process of gathering (creating?) the relevant medical records and argues that there's obviously no way Riley could have committed this crime because he has no criminal record and is married.

People who have not committed crimes do not commit crimes.

Here's what D'Amato said to The Norwich Bulletin:

"I told the judge and prosecutor... `Do you honestly think he woke up one morning, drove across the state and decided to rob a woman in a place full of security cameras?' It doesn't make sense if you think about it rationally."

No word on why Riley told police he "just wanted some money" if he didn't realize he was robbing someone.

The danger of making statements out of context.

[Norwich Bulletin via AP // Image via Helder Almeida/Shutterstock]